Warriors net HOIC win

Thursday

May 2, 2013 at 1:26 AMMay 2, 2013 at 1:29 AM

WFC wins HOIC softball game

Erich Murphy

Woodland-Flanagan-Cornell did what may have been expected in shutting out Ridgeview 13-0 in Heart of Illinois Conference softball Wednesday. Katie Starkey and Kassidy Kimpling teamed up for the five-inning blanking of the Mustangs. Starkey struck out five and walked one while allowing one hit in three innings. Kimpling fanned two, hit a batter and gave up one safety. It was that type of pitching that is important when a team might be expected to overwhelm an opponent. Defense is also a big factor and WFC made just one error. Although Ridgeview was putting the ball in play, the Warriors were not allowing much in the way of success in trying to manufacture something offensively. “It’s pretty crucial right now that we have solid ‘D,’” WFC head coach Lindsay Handzus said. “We know we’ll have an error here and there, but we try not to let it hurt us.” The Warriors’ one error came with two outs in the first inning and really didn’t hurt anything. Starkey struck out Kaitlyn Pistorius to end the inning and leave two Mustangs stranded. Ridgeview left four runners on base in the game and nary a runner got past second base after the first inning. The WFC offense didn’t seem to have a problem dealing with the offerings of Taylor Hastings. Megan Beutke was thrown out after trying to bunt in the bottom of the first inning. Five of the next six Warriors to bat reached as they established their authority on this day. Sydney Walker tripled to right field and was able to score when the ball was bobbled at the fence. Sara Spaniol followed with a two-base hit and moved up on a groundout. She scored on a wild pitch with Randi Rogers at the plate. Rogers reached on an error and Miranda Hakes doubled to put runners on second third. Addie Kirchner smacked a two-bagger that scored Rogers and Hakes. Two wild pitches allowed Kirchner to score to make it 5-0. WFC added three runs in the second. Beutke was hit by a pitch and Walker and Kimpling were both hit by pitches. Rogers had the big hit, a single that scored Walker and Kimpling to make it 8-0. “We struggle with slow pitching,” Handzus said. “We hit the ball a lot better today, we put the ball in play and got the runs we needed. We worked as a team.” Three more hits in the third inning helped pad the lead as two more runs scored. A three-run fourth included three hit batters and two base hits. Walker and Spaniol had three hits apiece top lead WFC’s 11-hit attack. Hakes added a double and single and Kirchner had a two-base hit. Rogers and Caitlyn Klein each singled.